


And With That... Everything Changes

by FunctionalMute



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25094341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunctionalMute/pseuds/FunctionalMute
Summary: Their lives are hectic and messy, but could never be described as boring. Everything is perfect, but who could predict one simple step could change everything. The idyllic life they had shared crumbles. Once a life is shattered into this many pieces, can it be put back together?
Relationships: Peggy Carter & Daniel Sousa & Jack Thompson, Peggy Carter/Daniel Sousa/Jack Thompson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	And With That... Everything Changes

It had been a long ten days and finally the case was finished. One perp handed over to the FBI after confessing to everything, and the other, unfortunately, dead. Only the finishing touches on paperwork left to complete, but it was a Friday… or maybe Saturday at this point of the night, and none of them had slept for longer than four hours at a time during this case. They had taken turns, so their time together was limited to work. Peggy had grabbed a quick bite to eat with Daniel two days ago, she recalled, and coffee perhaps… the day prior with Jack? The days had blurred together in her mind. What she did know was that they were, all three of them, in dire need of sleep and comfort.

She locked the front door as Daniel started up the stairs slowly, levering himself between the bannister and the wall. She started to speak, to advise him to wait for Jack, but thought better of it. She pulled the blinds and heavy curtains in the living and dining rooms and dropped the kitchen blind. As she moved to the back door, she saw a shadowy figure appear, and quickly unlocked the door before Jack even had his key out. She felt the edges of her lips pull upwards slightly at the smell emanating from the pizza box in his hands.

“Daniel’s already upstairs. Dinner in bed?” she suggested tiredly.

Jack looked as bone-tired as she felt. The bags under his eyes looked almost like bruises, and his hair was softening despite his usual pomade-slicked look. She got only a grunt in reply before he gestured for her to go ahead of him. He checked the back door was locked before following her up the stairs, flicking lights off as they went.

Daniel was finishing in the bathroom as they reached the bedroom, already changed into loose pyjamas that Jack liked to tease should belong to an old man. One trouser leg was pinned expertly at the knee, and they both knew the prosthetic would already be carefully cleaned and ready to dress come morning. As he collapsed onto the edge of the bed with a grunt, Jack tossed the pizza box beside him before reaching to unbutton the row of delicate fastenings on the back of Peggy’s dress.

Jack stole bites of pizza, and both men fed bites to Peggy as Peggy and Jack undressed and took turns in the en-suite bathroom. Eventually, Daniel was slumped against the headboard, his eyes half-mast, and Peggy and Jack were changed and sated. Jack tossed the empty pizza box to the corner of the room to deal with come morning, and prodded Daniel into a sleeping position before climbing in beside Peggy. All three were asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillows.

Peggy woke with a start to the sounds of loud thumps coming from downstairs. She was immediately out of bed, and had her pistol in her hand from the bedside drawer. She saw Jack respond similarly behind her as she nudged her way out of the bedroom, vaguely aware that it was still dark and that she couldn’t have had much sleep yet.

She froze at the top of the stairs as she took in what she was seeing.

“Daniel?” Her voice trembled.

Daniel’s body was crumpled and unmoving at the bottom of the flight of stairs, his crutch tangled at an awkward angle. Her brain stopped processing, and her feet refused to budge as she stared at her lover, lifeless and still.

“Daniel!” Jack pushed past her and descended the stairs faster than she would have thought possible. She was vaguely aware that he was checking for a pulse amongst other things and that words were coming out of his mouth, but it seemed to take an age before she processed that he was speaking to her.

“He’s alive, Peggy. Peg. He’s just unconscious. A bump to his head. Peggy, listen to me. He’s not dead.”

Eventually, she found herself at the bottom of the stairs, gripping Daniel’s hand and trying to focus on Jack’s instructions through damp eyes.

“Get dressed, Peg. They’ll not let you in wearing that. Quick. Pantsuit. Go.”

She might have tried to protest initially, but before she knew it, she was doing as Jack asked and scrambled into a simple pantsuit. It would have to be acceptable. She grabbed her handbag, knowing that she would need to apply makeup at some point, but there was noting that could persuade her to do that now while Daniel was unresponsive. As she arrived downstairs, she found that Jack had moved Daniel to the sofa and pulled on a plain shirt and trousers from “his” bedroom downstairs. He pulled on the shoes he had left beside the door before throwing car keys to Peggy, and once again sweeping Daniel into a bridal carry.

At the hospital, once Daniel had been moved to an exam room, Jack fastened his top few shirt buttons and pulled a tie from his pocket to begin tying. As Peggy distantly admired his foresight, he gently suggested a trip to the ladies’ room to tidy up. She counted herself lucky that she had had enough practice to fix her makeup in her sleep and made herself presentable on autopilot.

She said very little as different people took it in turns to ask the same questions over and over without giving any update on Daniel. She was vaguely aware that Jack gave variation of the same answers each time.

“Fell down the stairs… I was on the sofa, and Peggy upstairs… Yes, his wife… A close friend. And colleague… No, we didn’t see… unconscious the whole time… Thank you.”

Eventually, they were allowed to see him. They were led to his room, their footsteps loud and piercing the silence of the long empty corridor that was harshly lit with bright yellow bulbs which hurt her eyes every time she tried to look any distance ahead. Jack sat a safe distance away in the visitors’ seats, his arms crossed loosely across his chest, and only his tapping finger alluding to his frustration. Peggy dragged a chair much closer and gripped a limp hand for all she was worth, resting her forehead on his bicep as if praying.

Jack jerked awake at the sound of a pained grunt, his neck giving an angry twinge at the uncomfortable position he had slept in. He saw Peggy begin to stir, but his focus was on Daniel. Noting the door was closed, he rushed forward.

“Daniel? Open your eyes, Daniel.”

Peggy was instantly awake at that and squeezed Daniel’s hand gently as she joined his coaxing.

Both felt their hearts jump in their chests as a sliver of brown iris became visible and darted from one to the other and back.

“Fuck,” Daniel groaned hoarsely. “W’happened?”

Although they were shocked by the language, Jack found his grin extending at the fodder for teasing in the future.

“You fell down the stairs, you numpty.” Jack explained.

“You scared us.” Peggy explained more kindly. “You have a bad head injury and have been unconscious for hours. Don’t ever do that again, Daniel.”

Daniel’s brow furrowed as he tried to lick his lips with a parched tongue. His eyes flicked between Jack’s wide grin and Peggy’s quiet relief.

“Don’ jus’ stand there. Gimme a drink, woman.” Daniel snapped at Peggy, ignoring her recoil and wide eyes. “When can I get outta here, Thompson?”

Jack’s smile slid off his face and he felt like he’d just been doused with ice cold water. He gaped at Daniel dumbly as Peggy fetched a glass of water, unshed tears obvious for all to see.

“We need to get the doctor, Daniel. He’ll want to examine you now that you’re awake.” Peggy answered gently as she reached to help him sit up.

“G’off! I can do it myself. Where’s my crutch? And my leg?”

Jack still hadn’t moved a muscle. Peggy glanced around for a brief moment before realising…

“Oh. I didn’t… I’ll bring them in before you’re released.”

“You brought me to hospital and didn’t think I’d need some way to move around? For God’s sake, woman! It doesn’t take a genius to see I’d need my crutch!”

Jack’s teeth clicked as he finally picked up his jaw and took a step forward.

“Okay, okay. Enough.” He turned to Peggy, hating the hunch to her shoulders and the tears that were moments from spilling onto her pale cheeks. “Peggy, go get the doctor. Tell them he’s not himself.”

She didn’t speak as she nodded and strode out the door without a backward glance. With a steadying breath, Jack turned back to the man in the bed with a glare. Peggy Carter was the strong one of the three of them. They had watched her take insult and abuse hurled at her time and time again without any reaction. They had seen her take down multiple fully grown men in a fight. Nothing could break Peggy-goddamn-Carter. Except, it seems, such harsh words coming from the mouth of a man she had pledged her life to, the man she had opened her heart to, the only man she had never had a cause to doubt.

“You had a bad knock to the head, Sousa, and I swear, that had better be the explanation right now. You do not get to speak to her that way. She thought you were dead. She has been out of her mind with worry, and you finally wake up and treat her like dirt!”

The two men glared at each other for a low moment, before Daniel managed a sip of the cup of water Peggy had handed him, and collapsed back heavily onto the pillows. Before another word could be uttered, the door opened to permit the doctor that Jack had met only briefly earlier in the night. With a cordial nod to the doctor and a final backwards glance to a Daniel he barely recognised, Jack stepped out and closed the door behind him.

The tentative relationship between the three of them had started during Jack’s recovery in Los Angeles. They had tiptoed around the meaning for so long before Peggy laid out her plans and demanded to know if they were “in”. They had long got used to keeping home and public lives and personas quite separate. Their trusted circle had grown with time, and by the time they married two years ago, the Jarvises, Stark, Rose, and Daniel’s dad all knew to congratulate Jack despite his official role as best man. Nobody but the three of them were present on the morning of the wedding, when Jack and Daniel had exchanged watches, which they had worn every day since until now, and Peggy and Jack had exchanged Peggy’s favourite intricate gold necklace, and Jack’s gold tie pin. Jack had felt as bare without his pin and watch as Daniel and Peggy would if they lost their wedding bands. Smoothing his tie, and innocuously bumping the edge of that tie pin gave him a boost in strength that everything would be okay in the end.

He found Peggy in the waiting area, having just hung up the payphone. He ran his fingers through his loose hair, suddenly conscious of how he looked now that he has in an area humming with people and noting that Peggy had taken a moment somehow to tidy her hair and makeup.

“Jack. I’m going to go and pick up a change of clothes and some things for Daniel. I shouldn’t be away more than a couple of hours. I will retrieve some of our files so that we can finish our paperwork, at least.”

“Peggy…” Jack interrupted. Peggy had purple bruises under both eyes outlining the lack of sleep she had received in the past week, and her hair was pulled into a simple style with loose un-styled curls touching her collar, but other than these subtle signs she was fully put together. Her makeup was simple, but neat. She may as well have been wearing a suit of armour in Jack’s eyes. This was her version, as Jack’s was his suit and normally slicked back hair. “You know that’s not him. Not really. He didn’t mean it.”

He hated the niggle of doubt he could see in her eyes as she hesitated.

“Of course not. He is injured. I’m sure that with some rest he will soon be himself again.” Peggy stated boldly.

Jack sighed in exasperation as he fished in his pocket. “At least take the car. And get some rest before you come back. The paperwork can wait, Peg.”

“Mr Jarvis is already on his way. I wouldn’t want to leave you without transport.” Despite her brisk matter-of-fact tone, she squeezed his hand gently before she left.

Jack arrived back in Daniel’s room as the doctor was finishing and confirmed that Daniel was to be kept for at least 24 hours before he would be fit for discharge.

Peggy unlocked the front door and left it ajar as she silently accepted the car key from Jack and waited. There had been surprisingly little argument about the fact that Jack would drive, Peggy would sit silently in the passenger seat, and Daniel would be in the back. Now that they had finally reached home, she expected protests may begin anew. She stood back, not proud of the way she had, since Daniel woke, slipped easily into the persona of a houseplant. Drawing as little attention to herself as possible. No sudden moves, no noises, no opinions. She had seen Jack’s concerned looks, but there was little he could do in the hospital bar the occasional brief casual hand on her shoulder.

They had very briefly felt like themselves when Peggy had returned to the hospital, immaculately put together, and wearing her necklace. Something in Jack relaxed at seeing it, and he was surprised at the overwhelming relief he felt when she pressed his tie pin into his hand with a change of clothes.

“No, use the crutch in the other… Daniel! Because a stiff wind will topple you if you don’t let me help you! That’s why! Sousa, you stubborn bastard…”

Peggy locked the car and followed the boys up the drive slowly, casting a subtle glance around the neighbourhood to see if any of the neighbours were nosy enough to watch them.

She closed the front door behind her as Jack’s back disappeared into the spare bedroom. They had agreed that keeping Daniel downstairs as much as possible would be easiest. Peggy had said very little, but Jack had agreed to stay with him as much as possible to avoid him braining himself again.

Daniel’s balance was completely shot, and he had admitted double-vision to the doctor. Of course, his new abrasive personality meant that he detested assistance of any kind. At least with Jack he had little option, and Jack was strong enough to keep them from winding up on the floor when Daniel moved the wrong way stubbornly. She was ashamed to admit that she couldn’t handle the insults. Daniel was equally as horrible to Jack, but he didn’t so much as flinch. Every word seemed to slide off him without making any sort of dent. As jealous as she was of this ability, she knew deep down that Jack had, for a long time, expected insults and derision from them. His shitty past and low-self esteem were hardly something she should be jealous of. The doctor had told them that a personality shift was expected in severe concussion, and that it _usually_ wasn’t permanent. Peggy couldn’t help but think that wasn’t much of a reassurance.

It was mid-morning, the sun dimmed somewhat by a soft layer of cloud in the sky. Bright, yet not overly cheerful. She moved on autopilot to boil some water and close the heavy drapes. Jack appeared as she took the first sip of her tea. She held out his own mug, knowing that more coffee would only leave him jittery. She saw his brief assessment of surroundings, the same automatic check that all three of them did regularly before his shoulders slumped heavily and he breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. He took the tea gratefully and tugged her down onto the sofa with him, a strong arm pulling her close to his side.

“How’re you holding up?” he asked softly, taking a sip of the hot smooth tea and feeling each of his muscles relax one at a time. She laid her head against his collar gently, shrugging helplessly.

The silence seemed to both last forever in peaceful nothingness and also be over in the blink of an eye. They finished their drinks in that silence before they met each other’s eyes.

“He’s going to be ok, Peggy. We’ll get him back.” Jack uttered with such confidence that she could almost believe him. She smiled helplessly as he kissed her forehead.

“He’s asleep. Join us?” The confidence was gone with this question. He knew the answer before he asked. Peggy could hear the hesitation, the vulnerability, the plea.

Her smile faded as she shook her head. “I… I can’t, Jack.”

Jack woke later that afternoon as Daniel shifted in the bed. He propped himself lazily on one elbow and spent a long moment just soaking in the long dark eyelashes on Daniel’s cheeks, the curly mess that his hair had discovered without the wonders of brill-o, and the soft temptation of those slightly open lips. It didn’t take him long to work out that they were in the wrong room without Peggy and to remember exactly why that was. The darkening bruise and goose-egg on Daniel’s temple gave that away pretty quickly. But, in this moment he could pretend that this Daniel was his Daniel. Their Daniel.

“Th’ fuck y’ starin’ at, Thompson?” was the growl that snapped him out of his daydream. “Jeez, my head’s poundin’.”

With that, Jack swung himself out of bed with a sigh. He’d at least had the foresight to wear an undershirt and a pair of Daniel’s loose pyjama pants to bed last night, recognising that his usual choice of boxers might not be taken so well.

In the process of manhandling Daniel to the bathroom and back, Jack took the opportunity to try to lay down some ground rules.

“I swear, Sousa, she’s your wife. And if you don’t stop running your mouth, you’re going to wind up saying something you really regret and won’t be so easy to take back.” Jack huffed as he tugged Daniel back upright as he swayed.

“How the hell would you know what I would or would not regret saying? So protective over this _perfect_ life. Me and Peggy Carter, the perfect little wife who wouldn’t know how to act a lady if her life depended on it, which it has, remember” Jack hated that harsh empty laugh that he’d never heard from Daniel before. “And you. Jack Thompson, the third wheel, getting in on _my_ relationship because nobody else would want you.”

As they eventually reached the bed again, Jack released Daniel more sharply than he maybe should have, Daniel landing heavily on the edge of the bed and dropping his crutch as he used both hands to keep himself upright.

“Don’t. Stop that.” Jack knew his face was pale and he could feel tears pricking at his eyes. The sensation in his chest reminded him painfully of getting shot. The same ache and difficulty breathing. “You don’t mean that. I know that and you know that. You don’t mean any of it.” As Daniel looked ready to laugh and continue his tirade, Jack interrupted and continued. “You know as well as I do that if you wanted me gone all you had to do was say the words. Any time. I wouldn’t have asked. I wouldn’t have argued. I would have gone. And you know that.”

His chest still felt too tight to take any pleasure in the lack of retort from Daniel. Jack prodded him back under the covers and muttered his intention to bring food as he left the room.

Peggy surfaced as he was plating the omelettes. He knew she could see the puffiness to his eyes that he had tried to hide.

“Oh, Jack…” she whispered as she hugged him tight.

The three of them ate in the downstairs bedroom, and Jack was relieved that Daniel seemed tired enough that he had little to add to the conversations. As Daniel’s head tipped sideways, his breaths soft and even, Peggy fetched a handful of manila folders from the kitchen and they chatted lightly as they finished the paperwork together.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. They had all been awake for the guts of 16 days if one didn’t count Daniel’s unconsciousness as sleep. They, therefore, slept for most of Sunday and until lunchtime on Monday. It was then that Jack’s patience began to run thin. Daniel was better on his feet than he had been, but still needed help to stop him giving himself another head injury. They had tried him with two crutches, but even then he was prone to toppling in a spell of vertigo and being completely unable to gauge which way was up or down to break his fall. That left Jack as his permanent minder. And of course, he was still so obstinate that he refused to shift his crutch to his bad side. For all the years they had been together, they had become intimately comfortable with the easiest ways to move about the house. When Daniel was using Jack for support, he always shifted his crutch to the right arm so most of his weight was on Jack. Peggy had tried to assist a number of times, but it seemed that Daniel’s pointed jabs and insults quickly irritated both Jack and Peggy to the point that she was actually of little help.

Jack used the opportunities afforded when Daniel fell asleep to take a moment or two to check in with Peggy. To wipe the tears from her cheeks. To share a kiss. To hold her as she fell asleep. And then he inevitably left her alone upstairs while he returned to bed with the man who would push him away and insult him immediately on waking. The strain was showing. It was harder and harder with every day to hold themselves together. Which is why, on Thursday morning, it took him longer than it maybe should have to notice that something was different…

He woke to Daniel’s familiar low groan, and a raspy “Ow…” Too tired to realise that he hadn’t been roughly pushed or punched, Jack automatically rolled away from the warm body beside him with a placating “mmm hmm” and scrubbed at his eyes. It was as he met those warm brown eyes and processed the words, “Hey, handsome” that he shook the sleep away with a coherent “huh?”.

“Daniel?” he frowned, not wanting to raise his hopes too far, only to be dashed with the now-usual string of insults and derision.

“I gotta pee, Jack. Gimme a hand?” Daniel yawned, squinting slightly against the light flooding around the edge to the curtain into his eyes.

Jack was moving on autopilot as he reached Daniel’s side. “The other… oh.” Daniel was swinging himself out of bed without attaching the prosthetic for the first time since the accident, and had automatically lifted the crutch with his right hand, reaching for Jack with the left.

“Fuck. It’s you. You’re really you.” Jack whispered as he pulled Daniel roughly into an unexpected hug.

Daniel, although surprised, didn’t hesitate to fold his arms around Jack’s broad shoulders.

“Jack, what…?” Daniel asked, baffled. He tightened his hand noticeably as Jack moved away, a wave of vertigo coming over him suddenly. “Whoa…”

“Bathroom, right.” Jack remembered as he released Daniel. “Still dizzy?” he asked, grimacing at Daniel’s nod. “Might be easier with the leg on.”

For someone who had been trying to be the solid and stable rock of the household for the past few days, Jack would never admit how close he was to tears when Daniel scrunched up his nose and rasped, “Nah. You got me.”

As they returned from the bathroom, Daniel started to question. The more awake he felt, and the further the headache receded, the more his memory pieced back together.

“Where’s Peg? Did I… I made her cry, right?”

Jack helped settle him back into the bed, propping pillows behind him to make him more comfortable as he answered. “It’s ok. You weren’t… you. You remember falling down the stairs? No? You knocked yourself unconscious. It’s a pretty bad concussion or brain injury. You’ve been a bit out of it ever since.”

He couldn’t help but lean in to reassure himself. Daniel could taste the desperation, the longing, the relief in that kiss. And then Jack disappeared, looking more than ever like an overexcited golden retriever puppy, to dash up the stairs, his blonde hair floppy and untamed, his vest top rumpled and untucked and his feet bare.

“Peg. Wake up, Peggy. C’mon, love.” Peggy woke to the gentle lips on hers, the hushed yet urgent voice, the gentle stroke of Jack’s fingers down her face.

“Jack?” she stretched out as those lips disappeared. “What…? Is Daniel ok? What happened?”

In seconds, she switched from pleasantly sleepy to high alert. She stared at Jack’s grin and the glint in his eyes before processing his words.

“He’s awake, Peg. Daniel. He’s back.” He was pulling gently at her hand as he spoke, already wanting to be back downstairs.

“Daniel…” Peggy breathed as she slid her arms into her navy silk robe, her eyes not leaving Jack as if to convince herself. She took his hand once again, and followed until…

“Peggy. I… Jeez, I’m so sorry, Peg. I don’t know how…” Daniel’s eyes were soft and imploring, his brow furrowed at the recollection of the words he’d said to her.

Jack was unsurprised at the tears that sprung and streamed almost immediately down her cheeks. She sprung into action, her lips finding Daniel’s before burying her head in his shoulder as he held her. The ache in Jack’s chest this time was different. Softer. And it disappeared as he slid himself onto her other side, pulling some of her weight onto his legs, and leaning over to press a kiss into Daniel’s dark mop. All was right with the world again.

It must have been close to an hour later when Jack realised Daniel was still awake. Jack had slid Peggy onto the pillow as her breaths evened out, and Daniel had followed to keep her in his embrace and not budged since. Jack had been content to bask in this and didn’t want to be the first to break the spell. Until Daniel spoke, and he realised maybe he wasn’t the only one thinking this.

“Jack…” Daniel spoke quietly. He still hadn’t budged, but Jack spotted that his eyes were open and thoughtful. How long had he been awake thinking?

“Daniel.” Jack replied with a smile, equally quietly, reaching a hand to curl around Daniel’s where it lay on Peggy’s ribcage.

“She’s not the only one I was awful to these past… How long was it?”

Jack’s smile faded and he found himself breaking Daniel’s gaze.

“Four days. It’s fine. You weren’t… You didn’t… It wasn’t really you. I know that.” Jack struggled to articulate the words, but found his eyes drawn back to Daniel. For confirmation? Reassurance?

“I know you know. Doesn’t mean it was easy though. I don’t understand it, but the things I said… Those things are not what I think.” Daniel’s gaze was sincere and unwavering.

Jack found himself swallowing as a lump of emotion appeared in his throat.

“You argued with me.” Daniel stated with a hint of a smile. Was that awe on his face?

“You were a bit of an ass, Sousa. Of course I argued with you.” Jack answered, baffled, and giving Daniel’s fingers a soft squeeze to ensure he knew Jack wasn’t holding it against him.

Daniel smirked slightly. “No. I mean… I told you that you meant nothing. That we didn’t want you. And you argued. You knew it wasn’t true.” Daniel held Jack’s hand firmly, and Jack knew he must be able to see the pain that crossed Jack’s face. Of course Daniel would remember that. The most hurtful thing anyone had ever said to him. And, that was a feat given Jack’s past.

“I’m so glad you know that, Jack. You mean everything to me. And to Peggy. Thank you for believing it.”

Jack gave up. He was done. He’d had enough of being the strong one. He leaned over Peggy, and pressed his lips firmly to Daniel’s, ignoring the wetness he could feel on his cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> This may become a part of a larger series of fics, but I thought I'd post it as is for now.
> 
> I stole the idea of the watches, tie pin, and necklace from another fic I read many years ago, but can't find it anywhere to give proper credit. This small detail has stuck with me since reading this wonderful piece, and so when I do find it again, I will update to reference the origin.


End file.
